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  • Congressional Corner Rep Ted Deutch Feed

    TSCL would like to thank the following for taking time out of their busy schedules to discuss issues of critical importance to seniors: Congressman David Valadao (CA-21), Congressman Mike Coffman (CO-6), Congressman Phil Roe (TN-1), and Mr. Thomas Woodburn (Legislative Assistant to Congresswoman Diana DeGette (CO-1)). ."Social Security was originally created to lift older Americans out of poverty," Johnson notes. "The annual COLA is intended to prevent erosion in the buying power of benefits," Johnson says. "Between the growth in healthcare costs and flat growth in benefits, the COLA is failing the very people it's intended to protect," she says. .This week, two Members of Congress – Rep. Ted Deutch (FL-21) and Sen. Mark Begich (AK) – re-introduced the Protecting and Preserving Social Security Act (H.R. 649 and S. 308), a bill that would base the calculation of Social Security COLAs on the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E), and gradually eliminate the cap on income subject to the payroll tax. … Continued

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    I recently received an email with a link to a "Tax Loophole for Illegals" video claiming that the IRS had paid over billion in Child Tax refunds to illegal immigrants. Is this an Internet rumor? How can our government give away billions to illegals, when they don't pay any taxes? .But not all beneficiaries will come out ahead. Some treatments have little or no competition, and patients needing those drugs might not see any extra savings. And for people who don't take pricey drugs, monthly Part D costs are likely to rise because premiums are expected to go up when insurers won't be able to keep rebates to improve bottom lines. .With the Medicare physician payment "doc fix" scheduled to cease at the end of February, lawmakers remain divided on where the funding will come from to extend the current level of payments to doctors. If the current "doc fix" expires, physicians' reimbursements will be reduced by a 27 percent rate. … Continued

Generic drugs account for 84% of drugs sold nationally, but only 12% of spending. .Since the November announcement from UnitedHealth, doctors have started to receive termination letters citing "significant changes and pressures in the health-care environment." Doctors who receive the notices had only thirty days to appeal the decision, and if they are dropped from the network, their patients may not find out until they go to schedule their next appointment. .According to the Social Security Handbook, when Social Security decides an overpayment has been made, a written notice will be sent to the overpaid individual or the legal representative (such as guardians or estates), if any. People other than the beneficiary can be liable for overpayments if they are entitled to benefits on the same earnings record, like widows, divorced widows, spouses, divorced spouses, and children. .The Medicare report estimated the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund will become depleted in just six more year. .TSCL has long supported adding vision, dental and hearing benefits to Medicare, as well as supporting legislation to lower prescription drug prices. We are waiting to see what the final bills look like that come out of the House and Senate before we determine what kind of endorsement to give. .Jessie Gibbons – TSCL's senior policy analyst – told Karen Damato of Money, "We're concerned that the abrupt change will cause a lot of confusion and frustration among older Americans, many of whom don't have reliable access to text-enabled cellphones." In addition, Mary Johnson – a policy consultant for The Senior Citizens League – told Mary Beth Franklin of InvestmentNews, "Based on what we know at the moment, the alternative to checking online is either calling SSA's 1-800-772-1213 line, or trekking out to a local Social Security office where you take a number and wait in line." She also said, "The Senior Citizens League feels that online security is vital, but feels alternate options should be offered." .Senior Medicare Patrol Saved Millions in 2013 .As we said above, the devil is in the details. Rather than signing four "executive orders," the only real executive order was the one on housing. The other three actions are marked as "memorandum," which carries less authority. .Based on consumer price index (CPI) data through April of this year, Johnson estimates that the COLA for 2021 will be zero. That estimate could change, however, since there are still five months of consumer price index data to be collected before the Social Security Administration announces the COLA in October.